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Former Apple Employees' 'RearVision' Vehicle Camera Launches for $500
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You're so obnoxiously wrong that it's embarrassing. Just stop speaking.
No. I will report on it after I have it installed. The app just appeared in the App Store, but I can't do anything with it until I have the other parts installed.
It's not that I don't see a use for this product, but at $500 it's not going to appeal to a lot of people, considering the much more affordable options. It's going to be a niche product. My point was for the same amount of money you could probably get a decent head unit replacement custom installed with the camera and sensors.
Granted you can remove this when you sell the car with no damage, but why remove it unless you're going to buy another old car? Chances are your next car, even if it's used will have the backup camera built-in. Frankly, I'd leave it and sell it with the car regardless. It only increases the resale value at that point (assuming the company is still in business and the app is still supported on multiple smartphone platforms). And it's at that point, one wonders whether to have it more permanently installed and pay less, or pay the same and get more for the money. That said, I also understand replacing the BMW OEM equipment could negatively impact the resale value of a BMW -- and that's a market for this product right there. But it is most definitely a small market with limited potential at that price point.
Sorry, I meant I've installed a traditional backup cam in my car because it didn't originally come with one. It was in reponse to someone who told me that I have no idea how much is involved in installing a backup cam, lol. I guess his point was that most people couldn't do it, which I sort of agree with, though I would say "many" instead of most.
As far as using my traditional backup cam, I found that once the novelty wore off I preferred to just use a mirror and occasionally twist and turn my body and head to look backwards. I also have a good sense of the physical space of my car so I don't need a camera to help me with something like parallel parking. My driving skills are pretty average so I can't be the only one with such an opinion.
One use for which I think a backup cam would be awesome is hitching up a trailer, but a license plate cam would be useless for that on most trucks. It's like these former Apple employees thought it would be cool to add a backup cam to their $100+K sports cars so that's the only cars they targeted with both the design and price.
Yea, I just followed your posts in the thread, I thought you meant the Rearvision was great and you have one.
I too also use the mirrors and looking behind me to back up even with the back up camera. I like the back up camera for when I first start reversing to make sure there isn't something behind me that I can not see, and to make sure there is not a car coming that I can not see.
Good luck seeing a child or a pet sitting directly behind your car by looking at mirrors or turning your head...that's why it is being mandated.
Thanks.
It seems like not too many people have used this system yet. I tried to find videos of the product in action but only find promo type videos.
Also, all the reviews on the system read like a press release and not an actual review.
I am very skeptical about this system, especially how the app knows you are in reverse. It seems like it gets the data from OBDII port, but I am pretty sure gear data is not available in OBDII. Vehicle speed is, and RPM is, and I think negative values for vehicle speed means the vehicle is in reverse. But, that would only activate the app if you are moving. You would have to unlock your phone, find the app, and open it, each time you want to reverse.
If that is the case, that I think this system would not be that valuable to me and most people.
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I am not sure if that post was referring to my post, but this is what I said:
The "something" I was referring to was a child or some obstruction in my way. I just don't use it to reverse with. I prefer mirrors, and looking behind me, depending on the car I am using.
The OBDII tells it that the car is on...it may be as simple as activating/opening the app every time the car is turned on. Putting the car in reverse would then activate the image on the app.
If the car is on and you pull forward, the app would open but simply not be used.
If the car is on and you pull forward, the app would open but simply not be used.
How would the app know the car is in reverse? That is what I want to know. As far as I know, gear selection (P,R,N,D for automatic or any gear for manual) is not provided over OBDII.
If you are moving in reverse, that information might be available as a negative value for wheel speed. Which would be almost useless for a backup camera.
As for switching your car into reverse, which would be the most important part of having a back up camera, how would the RearVision know your car was just put into reverse?
Other systems use hardwiring for this.
Judging from the promo videos I have seen, it looks like you have to turn on the app when you want to reverse.
See my revised statement above. One of the articles clearly stated the app will automatically come on...ODBII could do that when the car is simply turned on.
I'm guessing they are simply trying to avoid the step of opening the app and having it activate every time the car is turned on.
Oh, I think I know what you are saying. The app will open every time the car is turned on, not necessarily if you are in reverse.
So, if you just get in your car, and need to reverse out of a parking spot, it turns on from just any signal from the OBDII port, meaning the car was just started. It will also turn on even if you do not have to reverse once the car is started.
If you are driving your commute to work, using your Waze app on your phone, and need to reverse for any reason, then you have to manually start the RearVision app for the camera to work.
Is this what you mean?
That is better than I thought, but still not as capable as a standard backup camera system.
If it was me using this, I would just leave the app running in the background after it started in the car. A simple double tap on the home button and swipe to the app to "open" it.
Close it when you leave the car...leave it "open"...whatever.
I also think a lot of you are discounting the amount of information ODBII can provide..I know when I do a diagnostic on my Audi, I can tell me faults or information on practically everything electrical in the car. It could tell if my reverse lights were activated. Not all cars may have this level of programming, but who knows?
Detailed info from the site would be nice, but again, the fact that this is an app, it should be able to be tuned for an individual vehicle. The VagCom cable and software I use for my Audis can diagnose nearly any Audi or VW over a certain time period simply by me selecting the correct model year in the software before I run the diagnosis.
Wondering if the app asks which Year and model car you have?
The tech specs for the product says that the camera frame and the car adapter both have 3-axis accelerometers. These may be what it is using to detect direction and speed, because it says the picture turns off when forward motion is more then 10 mph.
I think you guys are just lazy...their website lists answers to almost every single question posed on here....here is th elink to the AppLauncher feature. Pretty cool...senses when car hits 10 mph forward (or 60 seconds if certain older car) and lets you go right into Waze, GoogleMaps, AppleMaps, etc...
https://support.pearlauto.com/hc/en-us/articles/228044307-How-does-the-App-Launcher-work-
https://support.pearlauto.com/hc/en-us/articles/228044307-How-does-the-App-Launcher-work-
So, maybe the system turns on when you are moving less than 10 mph forward, at a stand still, or reversing, and all this while the vehicle's ignition is on. That could explain how it works.
I guess it might be a little weird to have it turn on each time you are at a red light though.
Thanks for the link, I did not see this as I was on the main product website and was using the links like "How it works" and "Experience" to figure out how it worked and what it was like to use it.
Although, the link you posted did not answer most of my questions like how the vehicle knows you are reversing, and how the video turns on. Only what happens when you are done reversing, which is important. I am going to look at the support sight for a video of the product in action, like from start to finish.
I wouldn't call it "lazy" for not looking at their support website for the basic functions on how a product is used though.
This is the kind of stuff I would expect on the main product page, considering the main purpose of the device is backing up.
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Thanks,
I am surprised that there is not more videos and info on this already. Maybe there is and I can't find it.
Sorrry...I wasn't referring to you specifically...
Like I said above, the app would activate when the car/ODBII is started...that is also why I don't think you will see it activate every time you stop once you have gone over 10mph.
In a situation where you start the car, it comes up, you back out of your space....then you are driving forward and it stops showing the back up view. If you stop at any point without turning off the car and then have to back up for any reason (like parallel parking), I'm sure you have to manually go back into the app to see the rear view. I can't think of any other way it would know...the automatic part just seems to be at vehicle start up.
I agree, if this thing doesn't instantaneously switch to the backup camera on the phone as soon as you shift into reverse, regardless of whatever else may be happening with the phone, then this is non-starter. The same goes for having to manually select the camera ever during the backup process.
The other issue with this solution as well is that unless the phone is already turned to landscape mode, then the backup image is going to be tiny. Most people have phone cradles that are vertical. I specifically bought one that pivots so that I could use maps in landscape mode, but quickly found that this was kind of a pain to do, so I rarely do it. My head unit supports the iPhone mirroring to the larger LCD display, which helps with the image size in portrait orientation, but most people aren't going to have that, especially people who drop $500 on this solution and don't have a larger LCD display to mirror to, or even a head unit that's capable of that.
Of course there are all kinds of other scenarios that people unsafely do, but do none-the-less. They get into the car holding the phone as they finish a call while they start the engine and reverse out. Assuming the video does automatically appear on the phone's display when the car is shifted into reverse without interrupting the phone call, it will be useless. Again, people shouldn't drive this way but they do. I myself have done exactly this, while using the built-in camera display. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had to look at the phone. That's what makes a permanent display more useful.
For $500, this is really the last solution I'd chose. Back when I upgraded my stereo head unit, I had actually considered some of the other iPhone-as-back-up-camera-display options, but they all had lag and other issues, and I realized that even turned horizontally that the display would be so tiny as to be unusable. This was recently confirmed for me as I rented a Ford Focus that had a permanent iPhone-sized display backup camera, and it was virtually unusable.
But as you say, if the software is not 100% perfect, snapping on the instant the reverse gear is engaged, regardless what else the phone is doing (and without interrupting phone calls, etc.), and remains on until the gears are shifted out of reverse, returning to whatever task the phone was previously engaged in, then this will not work for most people. I don't think I'd appreciate it remaining in camera mode until it hits 10 mph, nor would I want it to default to the camera mode just because the car is turned on and running. That would also be a pain.
So you're right, a number of additional questions need to be addressed.
I think this will be a niche product for some people who do not have a back up camera, don't want to or can't install one, and people who don't mind to unlock their phone to use the product.
It kind of reminds me of Chromecast. I have one, just to play around with. But, I would never use this over my ATV3s or my ATV4.
Having to basically use your phone as a remote for everything, having to unlock your phone just to pause and play something, it is not for me. But, some people love doing this, and I can see the RearVision working out for these people.
Most people want a dedicated remote.
That said, we both agree that manually having to turn on the app to activate the camera every time you need to reverse is not good enough for most people.
I know myself, and if I had this product, I probably wouldn't ever use it.
All that, plus it being at $500, I do not see this doing well. To be honest, I am not sure if many people would buy it even if it was half the price that it is selling at.
I wish the company the best. I love technology, and find stuff like this interesting, but based off everything on their website, and the questions left unanswered, the product is too flawed, and late to the party to be a success imo.